FTC Urges ISPs to Crack Down on 'Spam Zombies'

The FTC will join with government agencies from around the world to alert ISPs about the spam zombie problem and encourage them to consider cutting off Internet access for problem machines.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission plans to issue a statement Tuesday urging ISPs to take a tougher stance on compromised computers known as "spam zombies," which could include cutting off Internet access for the machines, which experts believe are responsible for sending out huge volumes of unsolicited e-mail messages.

The FTC will join with government agencies from around the world to alert ISPs about the spam zombie problem. ISPs should consider a number of options to stem the zombie problem, including better user education, anti-virus protection and even denying Internet access for problem machines, according to two FTC officials.

The statement is just the latest foray by the U.S. government's trade and consumer protection agency into the spam problem. The statement on spam zombies is similar in structure and intent to "Operation Secure your Server," a January 2004 initiative by the FTC and agencies in 26 countries, including the Office of Fair Trading in the U.K. and Canada's Competition Bureau, that urged ISPs to crack down on so-called "open relays" that spammers used to forward e-mail, said Don Blumenthal, coordinator of the FTC's Internet lab in Washington.